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We Haz Jazz 1997 Script
(We Haz Jazz) Riff, Jaclyn, Jack and Christina: We've got razz-a-ma-tazz, I mean tazz-a-ma-jazz, Whatever you call it, it swings! Be ba diddle diddle du wop, do a little bebop, let’s get together and sing! Susan: Hi, guys! Riff: Whoa, Susan! What are you doing? Susan: (laughing a bit) Watching you 4 sing and dance, apparently! Not bad, by the way. Melissa: Yeah, those were some pretty interesting moves. Jack: Thanks, guys. Jaclyn: We were just dancing to some of our favorite jazz musicians of all time: Woody, Dizzy, Louis, Billie Holiday, Thelonious… All: Thelonious?! Christina: Yeah, Thelonious Monk! Only one of the greatest jazz musicians to ever live! Abe: Man, these guys really like jazz. Jack and Riff: Like?! “Like” is not a word that should be used in the same sentence as jazz. We LIKE Big Macs and summers at the beach. The point is, we LOVE Jazz, and we bet you will too. Sarah: You know, I have an idea. Maybe if we all have a little jam session, you’ll see. Abe: Let's jam! All: Yeah!!! (Let’s Jam!) Sarah: Wow, that was awesome! I’ve got to ask… how did this “jazz” get started? I mean, it seems to me that all of a sudden we went from composers like Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach, to… Dizzy Gillespie and Count Basie! How did we get there? Jack: That’s a great question. The fact is that Jazz was the first truly new form of music that developed in America. In fact, it came out of the tragedy of slavery, where West African slaves mixed work songs with music from the New World. Riff: They sang it in the fields as they worked. Fortunately, slavery would not live on, but the music did. (Work Song) Rose: Wow, so THAT’s where jazz came from. That’s really interesting. Christina: It really is. And that’s not all. Over the years, jazz developed slowly. But in the early 1900s, it developed into Ragtime Jazz, with composers such as Scott Joplin leading the way with songs like “The Entertainer.” Sophia: Oh yeah, I know that song! (sings the melody) Lauren: Me too! (sings some more of "The Entertainer") It sounds like we're in a silent movie. Jack: And that’s still not all! Ragtime was only the beginning. Soon, Dixieland jazz started becoming popular and developed in part of New Orleans. Jazz became the most popular music of the early 1900s, especially in the 1920s. That decade became known as the “roaring 20’s,” partially because of the popularity of Ragtime and Dixieland. Riff: Another style of jazz, made popular by the lovely Billie Holiday, was…. the blues. The blues is the basis for many other kinds of music today, including rock music! The blues is all about expressing feelings of sadness and singing with soul. Matthew: Can we sing the blues? Christina: Uh…. no, we’re kids, we don’t have problems big enough for the blues! Sophia: I'll try. (clears throat and tries it out in an improvised Blues singing style) Oh my mom won't buy me a scooter, so I'll never be cool! Every kid in my grade has one, I'm the last one in school! Christina: Hm…. not bad! Maybe we CAN sing the blues! Let’s give it a try? Everyone ready? All: Yeah!! (I’m Old Enough to Sing the Blues) Sammy: Wow, that’s the saddest song I’ve heard in my life! Grace: I know! What a string of bad luck those kids had! Sammy: You know, one thing I don’t get is where the word “Jazz” comes from. Grace: Yeah, I mean…Dixieland, ragtime, the blues..I’m getting confused! Jaclyn: Many people think that Jazz was entirely invented in New Orleans. It wasn’t long until Jazz floated right up the Mississippi, right on up to Chi-Town! Grace: Chi-Town? What’s that? Jaclyn: Chicago, silly! And it held the promise of a new life for greats like Jelly-Roll Morton, Count Basie, Joe Oliver and The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, led by none other than Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong! Sammy: Wow! Riff…I think I feel a song coming on! Riff: I think you’re right, Sammy. Everyone… give me an M! All: M! Riff: Give me an I! All: I! Riff: Give me an S! All: S! Riff: Uhhh…. Give me an S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I! All: S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I! Riff: Uh… right. Let’s go! All: Mississippi! (Up the Mississippi) Ryan: All right! Thanks a lot! Rose: Before we go, let's swing! (Hobo Swing) Jessica: Gee, guys, that was the best one yet! I can’t believe everything we’ve learned about Jazz today! Ryan: Tell me about it! We’ve learned about the different types of Jazz, from Swing to 50's Bebop, from Dixieland to Ragtime, to the Blues! Cindy: Attention! We forgot Big Band! It's from the 20's and 30's! Also there was cool bebop from the early 50's. And swing originated in the 30's. Did you know there's also soft-shoe jazz music originating in the 20's, which is REALLY CUTE? Rose: Let's not forget Dixieland, which is Cajun jazz! Ethan: Louis Armstrong, my favourite jazz musican, and his band made it popular. Christina: I’m glad we’ve been able to teach you something about Jazz. Jazz is truly the music of America. From New Orleans, to Chi-Town, to Harlem, New York… jazz musicians made it to have fun! Riff: They didn’t always have their freedom, but Jazz IS freedom. It’s the freedom to create, and the freedom to feel. It doesn’t matter if it’s Big Band or Ragtime, or Dixieland, or Bebop, the Blues or even the modern Jazz you kids have today. Jaclyn: Jazz is OURS. We “haz” it! Now come on everyone, let me hear it! Let me hear you say “WE HAZ JAZZ!” All: WE HAZ JAZZ! (We Haz Jazz plays over the credits.) Category:Scripts